Genoa kicks off 2021 Para dance sport season

Nearly 90 athletes from seven nations of three continents are set to compete in Genoa, Italy in the three-day long-awaited World Cup as the countdown to November’s World Championshis in Ulsan, South Korea begins.

The competition kicks off on Friday (4 June) with plenty of stars returning to the dancefloor, including Russia’s duo freestyle class 1 world champions Igor Davydov and Iuliia Davydova of Russia, and duo freestyle class 2 world champions Maksim Sedakov and Galina Ryzhkova. 

Also, proven Ukrainian duo Oleksandr Onishchenko and Olena Chynka will reappear in the dancing scene from the first day of the competition in the duo freestyle class 2 and duo standard class 2 events. 

Genoa will also mark the international debut for many of the participants in an official World Para Dance Sport competition. Hosts Italy will bring 10 newcomers among the 27-stronge delegation in the World Cup. 

Dazzling action on days two and three

Ukraine’s multi-medallist Ivan Sivak will pursue the gold in the men’s single freestyle class 2 facing Brazil’s Lucivaldo da Silva, Russia’s Maksim Sedakov and Kazakhstan’s Yermek Kalimbetov. 

Three young Para dancers will compete in the junior category, one of them, 17-years-old Katarzyna Nowokunskan from Poland, will compete in an official international competition for the first time. 

Chynka will highlight the women´s single conventional class 2 and the women’s single freestyle class 2 events, after sweeping and incredible five gold medals at the 2018 European Championships and one gold at the World Championship in Bonn 2019. 

From across the Atlantic Ocean, the Brazilian team will join the competition with 12 dancers after a rough and uncertain journey due to the COVID-19 restrictions in the host country. Three new dancers to watch from Brazil: Jose Robson Cruz, David Pimentel and Elielson Almeida. 

World Para Dance Sport Manager, Camila Rodrigues said: “We are really happy to see Genoa hosting an important event this year following the cancellations of the European Championships in 2020 and an International Competition in Sardinia last June. We are looking forward to seeing some of the world’s best athletes in action again.” 

In a statement, the Genoa 2021 Local Organising Committee (LOC) said: “The World Cup will be an important path for the promotion of the sport nationwide in Italy. We would like to thank World Para Dance Sport, NPC Italy, the Italian Dance Sport Federation, the Liguria Region and the Municipality of Genoa for their support.” 

The Genoa 2021 World Cup will follow strict COVID-19 protocols in accordance with the regulations set by health authorities in Italy.